


The Truth Within the Lies

by PandoraButler



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: #relationshipgoals, ;-;, AU, Alternate Universe, Doctor Who-ish, Let Me Live My Life, M/M, Timey-Wimey, basically Black Butler, don't ask me questions, lol, please ship this too, this sucks, whatever, wibbly wobbly stuff, you're going to hate this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-10
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2019-01-31 09:05:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12678756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PandoraButler/pseuds/PandoraButler
Summary: Shiro Fujimoto accidentally summons a certain son of Satan. Now that he is here, he doesn't feel like leaving, so the guy has (quite literally) a demon hovering over his shoulder. Poor him. But, what can he do? Mephisto is actually very handy.





	1. Truth is, I summoned a demon.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sampika](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sampika/gifts).



Shiro Fujimoto is just your average law abiding citizen. He has grey hair and a good sense of justice. In short: he is the most bland person you'll ever meet. Is this a problem? No, not really. It just means he goes to work and comes home from work, like everyone else. He says his prayers before meals and enjoys a beer now and then. Normal stuff. So, why was today any different from the rest of the days in his life? Why did he decide, today, of all days, to cut his hand on the side of his desk and bleed into the carpet? That's going to stain. Poor guy. This was new carpet too. He'd saved up for it. 

He frowned at the small pool of blood on the floor. He'd better clean that up before it stained. Whoops. Too late for that now. The blood seeped into the carpet and touched the cement beneath. There was no getting out of this. He'd stare at that spot for the rest of his life, (or for as long as he lived in this location) and silently curse his existence. He didn't even think his cut was that deep. Why did the blood have to spill out of control? 

The lights flickered. At first Shiro thought it was just one of those freak things. Maybe the power was going to go out. Nope. The lights flickered again. Okay, strange, maybe he should go check the circuit breaker. Double nope. His house shook. That was weird. This wasn't a normal place for earthquakes. What kind of sorcery was going on?! He stumbled over to the window (as best he could without falling over and hurting himself once again) but the rest of the neighborhood was fine. It was just _his_ house that was shaking. But, then the shaking stopped, instantly. Shiro wasn't sure what to think at this point. Maybe his house was haunted. That seemed about right. These things happen, don't they?

The lights shut off. Shiro was now fully concerned about his safety. Should he call an exorcist? A priest? And exorcist  _and_  a priest? Would the Pope have a telephone line? Maybe he should just move after this. Yeah. That sounds good. 

A small glowing light appeared over the carpet stain. That glowing light turned into a figure. That figure turned into a person. And then, all light stopped shining. Shiro couldn't tell what the person looked like now. He could only see a basic outline and glowing eyes. Glowing  _green_  eyes. It kind of reminded him of a cat. Cats can have green eyes, can't they? Well, whatever it was, it certainly looked mischievous, maybe even dangerous. 

"Why have you summoned me? Lowly human, speak," a voice resounded off the walls. Shiro was really contemplating that exorcist now. But, maybe this unknown entity was nice? Maybe it would just leave if requested?

"Uh, hi," Shiro began, he kind of felt embarrassed about this whole situation. He couldn't tell you why he was embarrassed though. He just sort of was. "My name is Shiro Fujimoto. Nice to meet you, ghost thing, but, uh, can you leave? I didn't mean to summon you, I just cut myself like an idiot and, uh,  _this_  happened."

The lights automatically turned on, revealing the figure he was speaking to. A male stood before him wearing white. His hair was purple, with a giant piece that was just a swirl (for no reason, like seriously, why was  _that one hair_  out of place?), and his eyes were definitely green. Green confirmed. But, he wasn't a cat. Shiro was a little disappointed. A talking cat would be fun. He would want to keep a talking cat. Or even a talking dog, for that matter. 

"Well, that's boring," the male crossed his arms and stared at the blood stain on the carpet, "you summoned me without even trying! Here I was, placing my summoning circles in random locations to cause some mayhem, and you just summon me  _by accident_. I am offended. I am truly  _hurt_. Now what am I supposed to do? How are you going to make this up to me?" his voice wasn't as powerful as it had been. Was that for dramatic effect? 

"Look, uh, ghost thing, you can go back to wherever you came from. I'm really sorry for summoning you," Shiro scratched the back of his neck and looked to the side. Yep. He was feeling guilty over a ghost. But, the thing is, this guy isn't even a  _ghost_.

"Listen," the male pointed at Shiro, "I'm not a 'ghost thing' I'm a powerful demon. I'm a  _king_  of demons.  _At least_  call me 'demon thing' if you have to. But, I most certainly, am  _not_  a  _ghost_. Now, if you aren't going to sell your soul, can you  _at_   _least_  say so? I am a busy guy."

"You just said that you were bored and were placing summoning circles places, how does that make you 'a busy guy'?" Shiro raised an eyebrow. The demon opened his mouth to speak but then quickly closed it. The human had a point. He messed up. Curses.

"Well, in any case," the demon began, "you're stuck with me until you die, I get your soul, or the summoning circle is broken," he said, masterfully  _attempting_  to change the subject. It didn't work. Shiro noticed. Shiro always notices. He has two sons. You can't be a dad without noticing these things, trust me. 

"Don't change the subject because you feel like it," Shiro frowned.

"I'm a demon, I can do what I want," the demon frowned too, before crossing his arms and tapping his foot. 

"Well, demon, do you have a name?" Shiro asked. Why wasn't he more concerned with the fact that this mysterious demon showed up? And said he wasn't planning on leaving? Shiro is far too accepting of things. Honestly.

"I have many names. Which one do you want?" 

"Whatever is most recent? Or whichever one you like the most?"

"Hm," the demon thought for a while before answering, "Mephisto Pheles. Because, why not?"

Shiro smiled and outstretched his hand, "pleasure to meet you, Mephisto." The demon stared at his hand as if it was some foreign object. He didn't shake it and he didn't respond. Instead, he just sighed. This guy doesn't care about him being a demon at all. Who is the real monster here? Should Mephisto be concerned? Maybe this human was a lunatic. No, he most definitely was one. Mephisto made a mental note to keep an eye on him. 

"Yeah," the demon replied, "pleasure to meet you too."


	2. Truth is, I have sons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This probably stinks. I apologize ahead of time.  
> I have no excuses.  
> Not even the late night is an excuse at this point.   
> It just sucks.

"Mephisto, can you  _please_  stop making my chair float? I'm trying to do work here," Shiro asked. The answer was 'no.' He knew this, but, he figured he might as well  _try_ to convince the demon to stop his childish game. Shiro's attempt failed. This demon had an unhealthy obsession with 'the floor is lava.' There was no other explanation for the fact that he caused everything to float. Why don't you just go live in space at that point? There is no need to worry about gravity in space. Was there gravity in Hell? These are the real questions scientists should be trying to answer. Forget about time travel. Investigate the climate of Hell. Is it really all fire and brimstone? People need to know these things.

"Maybe you should stop doing your work at home and actually spend time with those sons of yours. You're not in school anymore. You have no reason to do homework," Mephisto, who was currently floating in his own chair, replied. His legs were over the back of the chair while his head was hanging off the front of it. In short, he wasn't sitting in it properly, he rarely did, and it always bothered Shiro. The demon was going to hurt himself one of these days. Overprotective fatherly instincts are active again.

"I can't. If I didn't do my work at home, I wouldn't have a job to go back to," Shiro frowned, "why don't  _you_  go entertain my sons if you're so worried about them?"

"Do you really want your sons hanging around with a demon?" Mephisto grinned in such a way that made Shiro painfully aware he wasn't human. No, he probably shouldn't have his kids hanging around Mephisto, but how long was he going to be able to hide the fact that there was a demon living among them? There is another questions scientists should be investigating. But noooo, they'd rather figure out how to mess with chickens for the fast food industry. Tch.

The door to Shiro's office opened and Mephisto was no longer in sight. This meant that Shiro's chair was no longer floating. Fortunately for him, it landed on all fours and he managed to keep himself from falling over. Damn you Mephisto, this is one of the  _many_  reasons we don't have people's chairs hovering around. You never know when a kid is going to open the door without knocking first. Kids always have a habit of doing that, you know?

"Dad? Are you okay? You've been in here for a while and we can hear you muttering to yourself from behind the door. Shouldn't you take a break? Can I help with anything?" Yukio, the younger of the boys, spoke. Rin, the older one, was standing next to him. Both of Shiro's kids were in highschool now. It was hard seeing them grow up. But, that's what being a parent is all about. What's even harder is when you spend too much time on your 'work' instead of actually watching them grow up. Yeah, that's right, I just shamed you. Fear me. 

"I'm fine," Shiro said. Mephisto appeared behind the boys and mouthed 'spend time with them' since he couldn't speak. Who would've thought a demon could have a heart? Shiro sighed. This stranger in his house had more of a soul than he did. Perhaps he should take a break. But then, who would monitor this demon?

"Oh, okay," Yukio tried his best to hide his disappointment, but it wasn't working. Shiro could tell. Shiro could always tell. Fatherly instincts never fail. Even if these boys weren't related to him by blood, it isn't the blood that makes a father, it's the person.

"Actually, you know what? I could use a break," Shiro stood up and stretched. He half wanted to throw something at Mephisto to get him to stop smirking. Unfortunately, he couldn't do that. If he did his sons would find out about Mephisto, and that would be problematic. 

The twins smiled in unison and ran out into the living room to get their favorite game set up. Blue Exorcist. It was a board game. The whole point of the game was to travel around the board, defeat demons, and level up as an exorcist. The first person to become the 'Blue Exorcist' won. Rin had a knack for winning every time they played. Yukio and Shiro kept trying to figure out how he'd managed to do it. He  _had_  to be cheating. There was no other explanation for his constant wins. 

Each male sat in their usual spot and picked a color to be their character piece. Shiro decided to go for the blue one this time. Maybe that was the trick. Mephisto, although he was trying carefully not to be seen, watched intently from the sidelines. The game didn't make sense to him. It seemed too simple, and yet, it wasn't. After the third time watching Rin win, Mephisto couldn't stop grinning. He'd figured out the trick. This just made Shiro angry. He knew the demon was mocking him. That much was clear. He wouldn't stop his silent snickering with each move Rin made. Eventually, Shiro couldn't take it anymore and threw the board game's box at Mephisto's face. K. O.

Rin and Yukio both ducked and turned to look at the place where Shiro had thrown the box. No one was there. Before they could question it, Shiro spoke.

"There was a spider," he said.

"You aren't afraid of spiders," Yukio replied.

"It was a really big spider. It had to be exorcised."

"But you aren't an exorcist," Rin frowned, "and spiders get exterminated not exorcised."

"It was a very demonic spider, okay? It looked at me funny so I had to kill it."

Mephisto glared at Shiro when the twins turned their back to him once more. He rubbed his head and frowned. 'That was not necessary' he mouthed. Shiro moved to pick up the other half of the box but Mephisto crossed his arms and disappeared. Good. Now he won't have to make up another spider story. Serves the demon right for being so cocky. One of these days, Shiro will torture the Blue Exorcist secret out of Mephisto, but that day was not today. 


	3. Truth is, I can't sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The twins still go to True Cross Academy. However, the school is just a normal highschool and there are no exorcist classes. The school is still considered an elite private institution.

"I am sick and tired of finding random locations to sleep every night!" Mephisto yelled. He threw his pillow down at the ground for emphasis. "I am demon royalty! I shouldn't have to sleep in closets!"

"Do you even  _need_  sleep? You aren't human! Go sleep on the roof or something," Shiro groaned and hid underneath his blankets. It had been a long day at work for him and he really didn't need Mephisto's complaining right now. Actually, he didn't need Mephisto's complaining at any time. Sometimes he wondered why he even kept the demon around to begin with. Wouldn't it be easier to send him back to Hell?

"I don't  _need_  sleep but it is a peaceful hobby!" Mephisto snapped, "you should take better care of your demon. This is practically slavery!"

"Slavery?!" Shiro threw his covers off and sat up, "you don't even  _do_  anything but eat my food and complain!  _I_ should be considered the slave at this point! You could be the principal of True Cross academy and it wouldn't mean anything if you didn't do your  _job_!"

Mephisto opened his mouth to retort but decided against it. He didn't want to admit that he was lonely and hated sleeping by himself. He shouldn't have said anything and just continued to sleep wherever he could fit. The demon sat on the floor where he stood. Shiro was right. Mephisto was extremely useless for a demon. Well, to be fair, Shiro wasn't using him as a demon  _should_  be used. He was more of a pet. Pets have a right to be useless, because they are kept around for their cute looks not their abilities. 

The demon laid down on the floor and rolled underneath Shiro's bed. At least this way he wouldn't be alone and he wouldn't be bothering Shiro either. Shiro, having noticed the droop in Mephisto's abnormal hair curl, felt guilty. He hung off the side of the bed in such a way so that he could see underneath the bed (but not be off the bed).

"I'm sorry," Shiro apologized, "you can sleep in my bed if you want to." Mumbled noises came out from underneath the bed. Shiro couldn't understand a word of what Mephisto was trying to say.

"Can you speak English please?" Shiro asked. "I can't hear a word you're saying right now and it's bothering me. You could be saying some really deep and personal stuff but I can't hear it. I'll never know."

Mephisto peeked his head out from underneath the bed. He made sure to avoid eye contact as he repeated his earlier statement, "You don't have to apologize. I was the one being a pain, like usual. I should be saying sorry, not you."

"You're right, you were being a pain. You're always a pain in the butt," Shiro agreed. Mephisto's abnormal hair curl drooped further and he scooted underneath the bed so that only half of his face was showing. "But that's okay," Shiro smiled. "You're  _my_  pain in the butt and a precious friend. If you want to sleep in my bed you're welcome to."

Mephisto's face had a slight tint of red. It was a good thing there wasn't a whole lot of lighting in this room or he'd never hear the end of it. Mephisto scooted out from his hiding spot, grabbed his pillow, and proceeded to get into Shiro's bed. Once underneath the covers, he wrapped his arms around Shiro and rested his head right in-between Shiro's two shoulder blades.

"Don't get the wrong idea," Mephisto defended himself, "I'm not hugging you because I want to. I'm just hugging you because if I don't, I'll hog all the blankets and you'll be cold. Oh, and, I totally could be the principal of True Cross Academy and not do a single thing. Don't doubt my abilities to be useless."

"Uh huh," Shiro responded, "I'm sure you could, but I doubt you would. You seem like the kind of guy who would get things done once his mind is set on it." Shiro reached over to his night stand to turn off the light and rolled over to face Mephisto. He wrapped his own arms around the demon and closed his eyes. Would he finally be able to sleep now? Meh, that's debatable. Something could still happen from now till the moment his alarm went off.

"He said we were friends," Mephisto mumbled to himself. He smiled into Shiro's chest. "Me? Having a friend? That's nonsense!" Shiro smiled and pretended not to hear Mephisto. He didn't want to embarrass the demon.

Meanwhile, outside Shiro's bedroom door, two boys were trying desperately to hear what was going on. Rin, with his ear against a cup that was against the door, was frowning. Nothing he tried would let him hear anything that Shiro said. It was obvious that he was saying  _something_  but what was that something? And what was it about?

"Do you think he has a lover?" Rin asked. "Is it a gay lover?" Rin gasped. "Maybe he got married in Las Vegas on a business trip and just doesn't want to tell us yet. Do you think that happened? Dad wouldn't do something like that, would he? He is full of so many mysteries I am not sure anymore."

"What would you know about having a gay lover?" Yukio questioned. "And why do you automatically assume that he has a lover? Our dad is married to his work. He probably is just sleep talking about things he needs to finish. I highly doubt he would get married and not tell us a single thing. He'd ask us for permission to get married. That's just the kind of guy he is."

"But sleep talking  _every night_  for the past week? Plus he talks to himself in his office too. Explain that."

"Dad talks to himself all the time, that isn't new," Yukio frowned. "Besides, sleep talking can be caused by an increase in stress. His job is just getting to him, that's all."

"Nope, he has a lover," Rin crossed his arms and nodded. There was no other explanation in his mind. 

"Just because you and Suguro-kun have gotten closer over the past few days doesn't mean that everyone around you suddenly turned gay," Yukio rolled his eyes.

"Ryuji and I aren't like that!"

"Not yet," Yukio snickered, "but you will be.~"


	4. Truth is, I can't cook.

Mephisto, still feeling guilty about being useless, decided that he should do something for Shiro while he was at work. He'd decided that he had eaten far too much of Shiro's food and should make it up to him by cooking up something special. This plan had backfired. The kitchen was a mess and the concoctions he had created were all unappetizing, to say the least. In short: Mephisto was a terrible chef. This was just one more thing he could add to the list of things he was bad at. Great. Just what he needed.

"I just wanted to make a simple dish. Now look at this," Mephisto gestured to the giant mess he'd made, "I can't even  _microwave_  something properly!" Mephisto sighed. It was only the 40th trial. He was bound to get  _something_ right before the twins arrived home from school. Right? Wrong. Today was a half-day for them. They'd arrive in exactly two minutes. Mephisto didn't have a clue. He continued staring at the cookbook open in front of him. This was pointless. He should stop trying. But, he wasn't a quitter. Shiro was right, once he set his mind to something, Mephisto just couldn't stop  _trying_. 

The door to the house opened. The twins were back from school. Fantastic. They both took off their shoes and were about to go up to their room, when they heard a voice say, "It's alive! Holy Hell! Blasphemous Satan! That is supposed to be  _food_! I've created a monster!" 

Rin picked up a nearby umbrella and cautiously made his way to the kitchen. Yukio followed closely behind. Both of them stood in the doorway of the kitchen to see a giant mess and a stranger. The demon was currently poking a pot filled with bubbling green goo. He didn't  _dare_  touch it with his fingers, so he used a long wooden spoon instead. The goo had a face and was complaining about being poked.

"Excuse you, Sir," the goo spoke, "I am  _not_  a monster. I am a life form created by you. If you could please stop poking me with that wooden spoon, I would very much appreciate it. Besides, I am the  _least_  of your worries. There are two young gentlemen over there that are very confused about your presence in their house. I feel as if you should address them."

"You're such a classy pile of guck," Mephisto stopped poking his creation and turned around. He gasped and attempted to hide behind the spoon he was holding. After realizing that his idea was incredibly stupid, he threw the spoon behind his back and rested his hand on the counter as if trying to hide the fact he was flustered.

"Hello there, uh, why are you two back so early?" Mephisto questioned.

"It was a half-day of school today," Yukio answered.

"Oh, right, humans do that sort of thing with their school schedules," Mephisto rolled his eyes in disapproval. He was obviously avoiding the real question here.

"What are you doing in our house?!" Rin glared. "And how do you even  _know_  what time we come home from school? Are you some sort of deranged stalker?!"

Mephisto stiffened at his mistake. He knew of the twins but the twins had no idea who  _he_  was. Great. Now what is he supposed to do? Should he tell them of the circumstances in which he is really here? Or should he make up a lie and hope for the best? The latter. Of course. 

"My name is Mephisto Pheles," the demon smiled, "I'm a friend of your father's. I was away in foreign country for a while so I came back to visit! I was going to make something for Shiro to celebrate my return, but, as you can see," Mephisto gestured to the giant mess, "I can't cook!"

"We've never heard of you before. How did you even get in our house?! Why should we trust you?!" Rin frowned.

"One moment please," Yukio interrupted Rin's interrogation and dragged him a few feet away from the kitchen so that Mephisto wouldn't hear. That wasn't going to work. Mephisto would be able to hear anyway, but they didn't have to know that. "Rin, do you think that is the secret lover you were talking about?"

"Oh, so  _now_  you want to believe that theory! But  _before_  you didn't think it was possible! I see how it is. My ideas mean nothing to you," Rin huffed.

"The point is, that guy doesn't seem very dangerous. We should wait until Dad gets home to figure something out," Yukio said. Mephisto snickered. Yeah, he wasn't dangerous at all. He was just one of the eight demon kings. Yep. Completely  _harmless_. But, did they really think he was some sort of 'secret lover'? He had heard them discussing this idea outside Shiro's door last night but he didn't think they were  _serious_. Mephisto didn't know whether to feel flattered or disgusted by this notion. 

The twins came to some sort of agreement and returned to Mephisto. The demon was currently playing with his gentlemanly goo creation but stopped when one of the twins began to speak. "We've decided to help you make something for our dad," Yukio announced. "Actually, Rin will help. He is the only one in this family that can cook. I'll just try and clean up this mess," Yukio paused. He looked towards the pot with goo in it and asked, "What are we going to do about  _that_?" 

Mephisto gasped and picked up the pot to defend it, "How dare you treat Mr. Goo like some savage creature!" The demon said. Did he not remember when he himself treated the goo like that? "Obviously we are going to put him in a Mason jar and keep him!" Mephisto looked around for the nearest jar. Mr. Goo breathed a sigh of relief at the fact he would not die today. Good for you, Mr. Goo.

"Can Mr. Goo be my pet?" Rin asked, "Yukio already has Amaimon and Dad already has Kuro. I need a pet."

Mephisto nearly dropped the jar containing Mr. Goo when he heard that Amaimon was Yukio's pet. Did this family have an obsession with collecting demon kings? No. It had to be some sort of coincidence. Right? Right. 

The demon gave Rin the jar, "Of course! Mr. Goo is all yours. Have fun. But, you must promise to make the most delicious meal you've ever made yet!" Mephisto then turned to Yukio to ask, "May I see your pet?"

"You want to see Amaimon?" Yukio inquired, "I suppose you can. I was going to have him help clean. He is a very intelligent hamster," Yukio left to go fetch his pet while Rin started pulling out ingredients with Mr. Goo's jar balanced on his head. Now, that takes pure talent. Mephisto was thoroughly impressed. 

"This is Amaimon!" Yukio returned with a small green hamster in his hands. The hamster had a unique triangular piece of furr on his head and flinched upon seeing Mephisto. Amaimon immediately crawled up Yukio's arm and hid in his shirt pocket. "I'm sorry about that. He isn't usually so frightened," Yukio explained and started getting to work. There was no doubt in Mephisto's mind that Amaimon the hamster was the same as Amaimon the demon. It's hard to ignore that green color an strange triangle hair. No one  _but_  Amaimon would have it.

Time passed and each of the three males (five males if you included the hamster and goo) worked hard in their attempts to make something special for Shiro. The kitchen was no longer a mess and the meal was nearly finished. Each of them stared at the oven intently, waiting for the product to fully cook.

"What if he doesn't like it?" Mephisto asked. He was getting nervous since Shiro could be home at any minute now.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Yukio assured him, "Rin's cooking  _never_  fails."

"We didn't let  _you_  near it so I'm certain that a Mr. Goo #2 won't be born," Rin smiled. "No offense Mr. Goo."

"None taken, Sir Rin," the contents of the jar replied.

"Did you hear that? He called me 'Sir Rin'! I love this guy."

The door to the house opened once again signalling that Shiro had returned. Each of the males in the kitchen stiffened. There was no going back now. Shiro, having smelled the aroma of whatever was in the oven, immediately went to the kitchen. Needless to say he was shocked at the sight of the twins, and  _Mephisto_ , sitting on the floor and staring at the oven.

"What is going on?" Shiro asked. Should he be concerned that Mephisto was bonding with his sons? Probably. Was he? Only slightly. 

Mephisto stood up and smiled, "It's been such a long time! It's good to see you again! I've finally returned from my business trip. Surprise! Did you miss me?" Mephisto said and hugged Shiro. He was trying to keep up the appearance of his lie. Shiro caught on and continued the act. To be honest, they might as well be married at this point. When you reach mind-reading level you're basically a married couple. Just saying.

"I missed you so much, you wouldn't believe it," Shiro returned Mephisto's hug. The twins observed this interaction skeptically. Rin and Yukio both felt as though they were missing something, but they had gotten so attached to Mephisto over the course of a few hours they buried their concerns. They half wished that Mephisto would stay living with them. It was the first time they'd seen Shiro this happy and wanted that happiness to continue, even if the origins of Mephisto were rather shady. 

"Now," Mephisto clapped his hands, "let's eat!" he said, just a second before the timer went off. Everyone nodded in agreement and their feast began.


	5. Truth is, I need you two to marry.

"Hey, Mephisto," Rin peeked his head out from behind the door to Shiro's bedroom and stared at the demon, "can you do me a favor?"

"What is it?" Mephisto asked. He was currently trying to build a pyramid using the cards from the Blue Exorcist board game. It wasn't working. One false move and all of his hard work would be lost. Poor Mephisto, he can't even make a card castle without being interrupted by one of the twins now that they have found out about him. One minute it would be Yukio asking about a math problem and the next it would be Rin asking something completely irrelevant. Didn't they have Shiro to annoy about such things?

"Can you marry my dad?" Rin smiled innocently at his own question. Mephisto nearly fell off the bed. His card castle was ruined now due to his instant lack of concentration. Curse you, Rin. You destroyed all of his hard work!

"What?!"

Rin entered the bedroom and showed Mephisto a piece of paper. It was an invitation to one of those parent-teacher conference things. "If you two get married you'll technically be my parent and can go instead of Dad. I'd rather you go than him. He'll beat me up about my grades if he goes. Plus, you two are practically married already. You and Dad bicker like a married couple, sleep in the same bed, are a great couple, and you always wear his clothes like they are yours! I don't see what the issue is. Plus, I doubt that you'll return to wherever it is you came from. You love us too much!"

"I can't just marry your father so that I can go to a parent-teacher thingy for you. Besides, what makes you think I won't beat you up about your grades?" Mephisto was trying very hard to get the idea out of his head. He wasn't going to marry Shiro so he might as well try not to fantasize about it. 

Rin remained silent for a while and just stared at Mephisto. Did this guy  _really_  just ask that? "Look at yourself. You probably don't even know why grades are important to begin with. Why would you beat me up about them? You're the kind of guy who would tell me to drop out of school and live on the streets instead of trying to succeed in school."

Mephisto had no way to refute that. Curses. Shiro and his boys have such a great way of reading him like a book. He should probably become less predictable in the future. A demon like himself should  _not_  be easy to read. 

"Look," Mephisto began, "as much as I would  _love_  to help you with this little predicament, what would be in it for me? There is absolutely no reason for me to go out of my way to lie to Shiro. Besides, you still have to convince Yukio not to spill the beans on your little plan."

"Too late," Yukio leaned up against the doorway while a disappointed Shiro stood next to him.

"Why'd you have to go and do that? I was so close!" Rin complained.

"Let me see that paper," Shiro held out his hand. Rin sighed but gave it up. Mephisto just sat on the bed staring at the failed card castle trying not to make eye contact with Shiro. He would get scolded later for even  _thinking_  about helping Rin. Great. Thanks Yukio. Also, RIP card castle, you will be missed.

Shiro looked at the invitation and then back to Rin, "At this rate, you're going to fail. Why haven't you asked Yukio for help? Or asked some other teacher to tutor you?" Rin looked at his feet and didn't give a response. This was  _exactly_  what he didn't want to hear and  _precisely_  the reason he tried to get Mephisto to go instead. 

"If you need help you just have to ask for it! I'm not sending you to True Cross just so you can fail!" Shiro raised his voice without meaning to. He was just frustrated with Rin's lack of care when it came to things involving himself. Rin let himself fail without even  _trying_ to succeed and that's what hurt the most.

"I didn't ask you to send me to True Cross! I'm not Yukio! I can't be him, okay?!" Rin snapped and pushed Yukio out of the doorway so that he could escape. Shiro was about to follow, but Mephisto shook his head and chased him instead. Shiro was the  _last_  person Rin needed to see at the moment. 

Mephisto knocked on the door to Rin's room. No response. He tried opening the door, surprisingly, it wasn't locked. Mephisto came in to see Rin hiding underneath dozens of blankets. He was just a giant hidden blob. Mr. Goo was on his nightstand trying to comfort him, but it wasn't working. Mephisto entered the room and shut the door. He then sat on the edge of Rin's bed and contemplated his next move. Lucky for him, Rin started speaking first. 

"Dad doesn't understand a single thing about me," Rin mumbled. If anyone other than Mephisto had been in this room, they wouldn't have heard what he said.

"I'm sure that's not quite true," Mephisto replied. "Your dad is just worried about you, that's all."

"It's not like I  _want_  to get bad grades. I'm just stupid and don't understand things."

"That most definitely is  _not_  true," Mephisto began, "you wouldn't be able to go to this school if you were stupid, Rin."

"Do you mean it?" Rin peeked his head out from underneath the covers and looked up at Mephisto. He was eager for Mephisto's response. 

"Of course," Mephisto smiled, "I wouldn't lie to you."

Rin smiled too, "Thanks, Mephisto."

"Besides,  _nobody_  can be as perfect as Yukio," Mephisto crossed his arms. "Trust me, I've tried."

Rin laughed at that, "I think you have it wrong. Nobody can be as perfect as  _you_ , Mephisto."

"The lies you tell," Mephisto grinned and ruffled Rin's hair, "I'm terrible at a multitude of things. You've seen how 'well' I can cook, haven't you?"

"I'm sure there is  _something_  you're good at! If I can cook, you can do something too!" Rin's smile quickly turned into a frown when he remembered about the parent-teacher conference. "What am I going to do?" he sighed.

"I'll tell you what," Mephisto began, "I'll try to convince Shiro to let me go too, and then, afterwards, we can all go out to eat and mourn your grades. But," Mephisto paused, "you can't keep trying to do things all on your own. My father used to tell me this: Hell wasn't built in a day, you have to sew the seeds of doubt one seed at a time. In short: you can't learn overnight, you have to study a little bit each day. If you don't understand something, ask a question, promise?"

Rin nodded, "promise!" he smiled and jumped onto Mephisto to give him a giant hug. The demon wasn't sure how to respond. He was certain that over the course of just a few weeks, he had already received more love than all 1,000+ years of his life. But, was that a good thing?


	6. Truth is, I'm not sure what to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am trash.  
> Trash is me.  
> This chapter escalates quickly.
> 
> Good luck.

Mephisto  _did_  get Shiro to agree to his plan; however, it took him quite a long while to do so. The two of them would go to True Cross Academy, participate in the conference, and then they'd all go out to eat (as one big happy family). That was the plan, but, nothing goes according to the plan in this world. Something always has to come along and ruin it eventually. Today just so happened to be one of those days. 

Mephisto and Shiro arrived, arm in arm, at True Cross. Rin and Yukio had stood outside the school's gates to wait for them. They waved. The twins waved back. Rin just so happened to be really excited that day. He wasn't looking when he crossed the street. Neither was Yukio. They both stepped into the road. They both had made a grave mistake. A truck turned the corner a little too fast. It didn't see them when it hit them. It didn't even  _stop_ after it did. That truck just kept  _moving,_ right over them. It never looked back. Shiro yelled for them to get out of the way, but it was a delayed reaction. He was too late. Rin's head was already crushed by a tire. Yukio's head had already hit the pavement in the worst way. Both died. Instantly. There was no going back.

This incident had happened in a manner of seconds. Shiro's mind couldn't process it fast enough to react. His body didn't move to go help when it should have. He felt  _guilty_. He felt  _sorrow_. His body was filled with thousands of other emotions too; emotions that he didn't even know  _existed_. The world had just come crashing down on him, was he even feeling the right types of feelings? How was one  _supposed_  to  _feel_  at a time like  _this_? 

Mephisto had seen death before. It was all over the place in Hell. But, that didn't make this any  _less_  difficult to witness. He watched as Shiro walked over to his dead boys. He saw Shiro collapse in-between them and begin his heart-wrenching sobs. Shiro cursed his own existence. Why wasn't it  _him_  that died instead? A father should  _never_  outlive their child. Mephisto took a step forward and reached out his arm. He came close to placing his hand on Shiro's shoulder, to comforting him, but he realized that he wasn't worthy of such a thing. Instead, he did the only thing a demon  _could_  do; he asked the impossible question. Mephisto placed the blame on himself, so that Shiro wouldn't have to.

The demon knelt down beside Shiro before speaking, "There is an easy way to solve this," he paused to force his face to grin in the most sadistic way he could muster, "now that it's happened, there's only  _one_  way to fix it. You know what that is, don't you?"

"Did you cause  _this_?" Shiro's voice was barely audible, "just so I'd give you my soul? Why?" he asked, betrayal laced his voice, " _why_?" Mephisto didn't give a response. His face was devoid of anything a human would be able to understand. Shiro had been reminded, in the cruelest way, that this male was not, in any way, a  _human_.

"If you want it so badly, just  _take_  it," tears fell down his cheeks as he pleaded, "take it,  _please_ , but fix  _this_." 

The corners of Mephisto's mouth continued to tilt upward as he spoke, "Your wish, is my command." Mephisto counted to three and snapped his fingers. Time came to a standstill. The demon clutched his sides in attempts to hug himself. He was the only one who could provide himself comfort now that this had happened. Surely, it wasn't necessary to drive the stake into Shiro's heart further. Mephisto shook his head. No, it  _was_  necessary. If, for some reason, his plan  _didn't_  work and he  _wasn't_  able to save the twins, Mephisto would rather have Shiro grow to hate him, a demon, than drive himself mad with guilt. Humans have a funny way of pushing the blame onto themselves even though it couldn't have possibly been  _their_  fault. But, then again, so do  _demons_. 

"I should have left the moment I arrived," Mephisto sobbed. There was no reason for him to cry silently with time stopped like this, but he feared if he didn't, he might crack time itself with his loud wails. "I shouldn't have stayed in your house knowing I wasn't needed. Demons bring more demons. Demons cause bad luck. I knew this, but I stayed. I'm sorry. _I'm sorry._  But, now there is no way you can forgive me. I've made it impossible. I've planted the worst lie inside your brain." Mephisto smirk turned into a smile laced with sorrow. "There are so many things I still have to tell you," tears fell down his cheeks and onto the road, "like the secret to winning Blue Exorcist or the science behind Mr. Goo's creation. There are so many things I should've said or done differently.  It's all going to disappear now. You'll never remember this. You'll never know that we knew each other at all. You'll have never summoned me. We will never have met. Don't worry, I'll talk to Amaimon, I'll tell him to look after you. You only need one demon in your life, it might as well be him."

"I'm sorry," Mephisto said, "but I'll fix it all, okay?" The demon leaned forward to place a kiss on Shiro's lips. He wouldn't remember it. It wouldn't have happened. So, why not kiss him one time? It couldn't do any harm. This was goodbye. This was farewell.

Mephisto stood up and took a step or two towards Yukio's body. Inside his hands was the small hamster version of the demon Amaimon. Yukio had protected him. Mephisto allowed time to move, for his brother only, so that Mephisto could speak to his fellow demon. The little hamster looked up at Mephisto, confusion written all over his face, but he said nothing.

"Be sure to look after them, okay?" Mephisto asked. The hamster avoided eye contact but nodded nonetheless. He understood what his brother was going to do. He had avoided Mephisto for so long, and this was their first real conversation. Amaimon was feeling guilty, Mephisto could see it.

Mephisto knelt down and pet Amaimon, "It's okay," he said, "I was never angry with what you told Dad. Don't worry about it. I don't hate you. He was bound to find out sooner or later." Mephisto smiled, stood up, and walked away, (after pausing time on Amaimon once more). He needed to go back to Shiro's house and erase his summoning circle. He needed to force time back to the night that Shiro cut his hand on the side of his desk. But, this time, Mephisto wouldn't be summoned.

The demon stood outside the window to where Shiro's office was. He concentrated on the cement, to push time back to before the summoning circle was drawn. Then, he pushed time back (on the world) to the night when Shiro cut his hand. Mephisto's eyes were crying blood. This was putting too much of a strain on his body. Pushing time back this far without a proper channel between Assiah and Gehenna was dangerous, even for him. If he used all of his power freely, it would destroy Assiah. Instead of destroying Assiah, he was destroying himself. It was better that way. 

Mephisto allowed time to move once more. He smiled when Shiro cut his hand and cursed. He snickered when Shiro frowned at the new bloodstain on his carpet. He cried when he realized he couldn't stay. Mephisto coughed and felt his body weaken. This was too much. He should've tried a different way. The demon turned himself into a small dog and hid in the bushes underneath the window. He allowed his eyes to close and his body to rest. There wasn't much to be done now. He'd leave in the morning and never look back.


	7. Truth Is, I think something is missing.

Yukio stared at the random Mason jar on Rin's nightstand. Why was that there? What did Rin  need a jar for? Rin, noticing his brother's confusion, answered the question that hadn't been asked. "There was a space that needed to be filled. I put a jar there and named it Mr. Goo."

"Why would you name a jar Mr. Goo? There isn't even anything inside the jar," Yukio frowned.

"So? I don't care. That jar is my friend, go on, judge my life. That's my pet jar and I'm  _not_  ashamed of it," Rin crossed his arms and frowned at the fact Yukio would dare to deny the majesty that is Mr. Goo.

"Uh huh, okay," Yukio sighed.

"What are you doing in my room? You have no reason to be here," Rin asked. Yukio  _rarely_  visited him. It was an unspoken rule between the two brothers that once a brother was in his room, he was off limits and was not to be disturbed. Apparently this rule only worked one way. Rin wasn't allowed in Yukio's room but Yukio was allowed in Rin's room. Yukio made that clear by his response. 

"Oh, I see how it is, I'm not allowed in my brother's room unless I have a specific reason?"

"Well," Rin began, "you usually don't  _enter_  my room without a specific reason."

"True," Yukio agreed. "In any case, have you seen that white dog that's been in the neighborhood recently? I keep trying to pet him but he won't let me get close enough. It's like he  _knows_  I want to pet him and is taunting me!" Yukio complained.

"I don't see why this is important," Rin sighed, "since you're here though, do you mind helping me with my homework? Dad is going to kill me if he sees my grades. I have to bring them up at least  _two_  points before conferences."

"Doing a few homework assignments isn't going to help your grade, but yes, I'll help you." Yukio sat down on Rin's bed and helped him with his homework until he got bored, or it was time to go to bed. That was the plan at least; however, a loud scream interrupted the brief study session. That must be Shiro. He seemed so strange the last couple of days. Neither Rin nor Yukio could figure out the cause to his unusual behavior. Was work too stressful? Or maybe he just wasn't getting enough sleep? Usually it didn't take much for Shiro to fall asleep. He wasn't the type to have dreams, let alone  _bad_  dreams, but he seemed to have them far too often recently. He would wake up screaming in the middle of the night, but when the twins asked him what the problem was (after rushing to him to see if he was okay), he would say he didn't know. Perhaps, in his old age, he was starting to go crazy. Perhaps, in his old age, his mind was starting to fail him. The twins hadn't figured it out yet, despite each of their attempts.

The twins ran down the stairs, in sync, to their father's office. He was sitting, with his head in his hand, at his desk. There was unfinished paperwork in a messy pile and a red mark on his cheek to show he had clearly fallen asleep on the job. This was not a good sign. He desperately needed rest but there was absolutely no way to provide it. It was because of this reason that Shiro had fallen asleep while working. His body had taken control and forced it on him since he needed it so badly.

"Did you have another bad dream?" Yukio asked. Shiro jumped at the sound of his voice. This always happened. He would scream, flinch when one of the twins spoke, and start crying. The crying part hadn't kicked in yet. Shiro looked at his boys and tried, just this once, to withhold his tears. Maybe he would manage it or maybe he wouldn't. It was too soon to tell at the moment.

"I just wish that I could  _remember_  what it is about the dream that hurts the most," Shiro began, "I can only remember part of it. Just the part involving you two, but there is something  _more_  than just  _that_. There is something  _more_  than just watching you two get  _hurt_. I don't remember  _how_  you got hurt,  _why_  you got hurt, or  _when_. I just know you  _did_. Something is missing. I'm forgetting something incredibly important. But,  _what_? What is it?"

"But, that's the thing," Rin sighed, "we  _didn't_  get hurt. We're right here. We're fine. Nothing happened. It's all in your head."

"At what cost?" Shiro muttered, "who paid the price for  _that_?"

"No one, because it didn't happen."

"You can't say that for certain!" Shiro snapped. He immediately regretted it. "You don't know what it is like. Okay? You don't see the same thing I do every time I close my eyes. I can't even tell you  _why_  I keep seeing it! But, you don't understand, okay? Please. Just realize that it's not all in my head. There is something  _more_  to it."

"We're just worried about you," Yukio said, trying to calm his father down.

"We just want you to know that we're here for you and you don't have to face this alone," Rin smiled. The twins hugged their father and allowed him to get whatever issue it was out of his system. They let him try to remember the specifics of his dream. They let him rant. They let him cry. Neither of them had to believe a word he said. Neither of them had to understand a single thing. He needed to get it out. He couldn't keep bottling it up inside. That wasn't healthy. Maybe, if he did this, he'd be able to sleep soundly tonight. That's all they could ever hope for.

That night, Shiro wasn't allowed to sleep alone. He slept with a twin on each side of him. He slept with a hamster on his pillow and a cat lying on his stomach. Shiro still felt as if something was wrong with the world, but he didn't know what to do about it. He couldn't change anything. He couldn't even look for what he was missing since he didn't know  _what_  it was that he was missing in the first place. Shiro stared at the ceiling for quite some time. He stared so long he could've sworn there were eyes staring back at him. The shadows on the ceiling started making a shape, a human shape. He blinked a few times but the shape was still there. Its hair (from what Shiro could tell) contained an obnoxious swirl. Shiro's eyes must be playing tricks, right? Surely no one in their right mind would have that kind of hairstyle. Shiro yawned and allowed himself to doze off. For some reason, he managed to sleep peacefully that night. No nightmares came to him. That reoccurring dream left him alone. Shiro only wished he knew  _why_. What was so special about tonight? What made  _tonight_  any different from all the other ones?


	8. Truth is, time doesn't work as we want it to.

Shiro had stopped having nightmares, but the same wasn't true for Rin. Rin's nightmares were only  _beginning_. His grades did change, slightly, from Fs to Ds, but that wouldn't save him from his father's wrath. Rin sighed. The day he'd been loathing finally arrived. Parent-teacher conferences. Shiro had promised not to get  _too_  angry, (quite honestly, he wasn't sure if he  _could_  get angry. He'd stopped having nightmares but that didn't mean his workload decreased so he was too tired to even  _feel_  anger). Rin was certain he would. All of his teachers hated him. It didn't matter how he tried to change or make himself more likable, they did, everyone did. Rin just wish he knew  _why_. Yukio got along so nicely with others, why couldn't he?

The twins were waiting outside their school with Shiro. He'd just arrived but wasn't sure if he should go in just yet since they had some time to kill before the appointment. Rin was clearly nervous out of his mind while Yukio couldn't care less. Shiro sighed. He wasn't sure what to do at this point. However, in the corner of his eye, he saw a male dressed in white doing a performance for some children. His hair was a bright shade of purple (which happened to match some of his clothing) but Shiro couldn't see all of his face due to the hat he was wearing. 

Shiro observed the male as he juggled several apples. He couldn't quite place his finger on it, but there was something  _nostalgic_  about this stranger. Shiro found himself smiling as he watched. He wasn't terrible at what he was doing; the children were clearly impressed with his skills. When he was finished he bowed and gave each of the children one of the apples he'd used. They smiled and ran off. He waved. Shiro and the stranger made eye contact, only for a moment, but the stranger showed no signs that it had happened. He seemed nervous and acted as if Shiro wasn't supposed to see him. Shiro thought that to be strange, as the two had never seen each other before.

The stranger began to walk away, in the opposite direction of the children, when a gust of wind blew his hat off and into the street. The stranger hadn't noticed, but Shiro had, and he went to go to pick it up. 

"Wait!" Shiro called. He'd picked up the hat and tried to get the attention of the male who left. He noticed the abnormal hair curl and remembered the shadow on his ceiling. No. That couldn't be the same thing. They didn't even meet before! It  _must_  be his imagination.

Shiro stopped dead in his tracks, contemplating, a moment too long. He wasn't in the  _middle_  of the street, but he was still far enough on the street to be in danger. A car was driving a bit too fast. It tried, and failed, to swerve out of the way. Shiro groaned as his body crashed to the ground. The stranger had heard the noise and rushed back to him. Well, Shiro smiled, at least he had gotten his attention in some way.

"Are you okay?!" the stranger asked as he picked up Shiro's body. He'd intended to carry him to the nearest hospital but stopped halfway, as it seemed to be hurting Shiro more than helping. Shiro could feel the internal bleeding. The nearest hospital was too far away to be of any use. Carrying him or calling an ambulance was pointless. He wouldn't make it. He might as well return the hat and leave this world peacefully. He might as well say his goodbyes and close his eyes.

"I'm fine, of course I'm fine," Shiro lied. He lied to himself, to this stranger, and to his kids who were kneeling next to him. "It's just a scratch, no big deal," he laughed, "that's what I get for crossing the street without looking. At least your hat made it out unharmed," Shiro smiled before placing the hat back on the stranger's head.

"You're a fool," the stranger said, "who in their right mind would go into the street for a stupid hat?" the stranger's voice cracked. Shiro didn't want to see this man cry on his behalf. He didn't understand his own emotions but he just  _knew_  he didn't want it. So, he tried to play it off as if it wasn't serious. He was fooling himself. He had to, to keep things light.

"Me," Shiro said, "I would, especially if it gave me an excuse to be held in an attractive stranger's arms," Shiro winked, then coughed, his pain was only getting worse with each passing moment.

"Dad," Yukio frowned, "this is no time to be flirting. You're hurt!"

"What do you mean? There is always time to be flirting!" Shiro defended himself. "Besides, it feels like I've met him before. He doesn't seem like a stranger." Rin and Yukio stared at the purple haired male. They felt it too. None of them understood it, but they all felt the familiarity.  _Something_  about him just felt  _comforting_  and neither of the three had a single clue as to why.

"We've got to get him to a hospital," the stranger said. The twins had already called for an ambulance, but Shiro shook his head. They knew. He knew. But none of them wanted to admit the facts.

"I'm not going to last that long," he said. 

"What do you mean you aren't going to last that long! Of course you'll last that long!" Rin's voice cracked. "You can't leave us behind! We need you! Yukio and I need you! You can't just die! You can't! It's wrong!"

Shiro smiled even though smiling wouldn't cover up the pain on his face or the paleness of his skin. He was losing color. He was losing life. He smiled even though his sons were crying. Even though the stranger was close to tears. He still smiled, even if it hurt to smile.

"It's okay," he said, "it's all going to be okay," he closed his eyes. Shiro's body went limp and the twins couldn't contain their sorrow. The stranger sobbed too. This wasn't how this was supposed to work. This wasn't how any of it was supposed to go. He was supposed to have  _saved_  them. But, he'd only traded one bad thing for another. No.  _No_. He cradled Shiro in his arms and rocked back and forth, sobbing, crying, yelling in frustration. He didn't care at this point if anyone saw or questioned him. He didn't care. He would change it. He  _would_  change it. Even if it killed him. Even if it destroyed both Assiah and Gehenna. Even if it destroyed the universe. None of that mattered to him.  _He would change it._


	9. Truth is, I'll die instead.

If there was one thing Mephisto forgot, it was the date of the day in which Rin's parent-teacher conference was. He hated himself for forgetting that vital detail. If he hadn't gone to the street that day, if he hadn't juggled those apples, if he hadn't made eye contact, if his hat didn't fly off of his head,  _everything could have been avoided_. But, because of that stupid mistake, because of his idiotic brain,  _Shiro died_. Now, Mephisto was stuck sitting in this street, time paused, thinking about how he was going to change it all. He didn't have the strength to change time as far back as he had last time. It was too soon after that event. Besides, even if he'd changed time again, he wasn't confident in his abilities to stop Shiro's death, (and he certainly wasn't confident in Amaimon's, considering Amaimon hadn't even stopped it on this occasion). And so, he did the only thing he could think of...

He used himself. 

There are times, Mephisto noticed, that time happens and  _fixes_  events in a certain way. There are points in time that are unavoidable. One of these instances, Mephisto thought, was a car turning this corner too quickly and hitting an individual. Now, if Mephisto was right,  _who_  the individual was didn't matter. What mattered was simply that an individual got hit, and (quite possibly) died. 

Mephisto turned back time to when the car first turned the corner. He merged with his previous self and continued to pause and play time. He made it so that he would run and push Shiro out of the way. It was simple, in theory, but in reality if he messed up one single thing it would be noticeable that Mephisto wasn't moving at a human pace. In any case, he did this. It was his own version of a stop-motion picture.  _He_  would be the one to get hit by the car.  _He_  would be the one to die. That way, at least, Shiro wouldn't die and neither would Rin and Yukio. If this was all he could do to help them live a bit longer, he would do it without a second thought. 

The demon stood in front of the car, staring at it, with time still paused. He was a demon. He wouldn't die. But, he was a demon, people would notice if he didn't. Mephisto paused time on himself. He made it so that his whole body was a tad  _too_  slow. His wounds wouldn't heal as quickly as they normally would. But, he also would run the risk of killing himself. That was a risk he was willing to take. He'd rather himself then one of  _them_. He'd ruined their lives simply by being in it. He'd messed everything up simply because he had made his first friend. Well, not anymore. He would fix it. He would change it. And, he would die. 

Time continued.

Mephisto was hit, Shiro was saved, and the twins witnessed his crash to the ground just like every other citizen in the vicinity. Mephisto felt pain, excruciating pain, but, fortunately for him, he'd felt much worse before. This was nothing compared to what he'd suffered as a demon king in Gehenna. This was just a scratch. He  _did_  feel incredibly human thought. His vision was blurred and his consciousness was slowly fading. He thought he could hear the sound of Shiro's voice, but, he wasn't certain. Mephisto smiled, without realizing he was making an expression at all, and closed his eyes. 

Shiro had witnessed the car crash first hand, as did Rin and Yukio, and he was suddenly reminded of his reoccurring dream. He'd experienced a crash like this before, many times, in his sleep. It was always his sons that died. This time, it was a stranger. Shiro didn't know how to take it. He felt as if he knew the stranger, and yet, he didn't. He rushed to Mephisto's side and attempted to stop whatever bleeding wounds the man had. He yelled at his sons to call for help. He wouldn't allow this man to die. He wouldn't. They had a connection, but Shiro didn't know what that connection was, and he wasn't about to let him die before finding out. 

"Stay with me," he told the man, "you better not die on me now," he said. The man smiled, and closed his eyes, without saying a word. Shiro frowned. Shiro cursed. He was  _not_  about to die. His wounds were already in better shape than a normal person's. The thought hadn't crossed Shiro's mind that he wasn't human. He simply thought that Mephisto was a very lucky individual, and that fate was on his side. Fate would allow him to stay alive, so that Shiro could get his answers. These two were meant to interact again. It was written in the cards.

The ambulance arrived and Mephisto was driven off. Rin and Yukio were sent back home while Shiro traveled with this stranger to the hospital. He wasn't dead. He couldn't die yet. Shiro kept telling himself that it wasn't going to happen. He wouldn't allow the doubtful thoughts to enter his mind. 

Shiro was sent to the waiting room as the nurses and doctors buzzed about. He didn't know what to think. He didn't know what to expect. He simply sat in a chair and waited. He waited and waited and waited. He heard the clock tick next to him but didn't bother to watch the time. He only needed the news. Be it good, be it bad, he only needed the news. Every time Shiro found himself falling asleep, he snapped his eyes back open and changed positions in the chair. News still hadn't come. 

A nurse walked up to Shiro and asked him if he knew the male they'd brought in. Shiro said he didn't, because it was true, but he was still worried about the stranger's condition. The nurse sighed. She said that no one seemed to know a thing about him and that his condition wasn't good. She didn't know if he would last the night and she wanted to try and contact his family, if he even had any. She also said that Shiro had to leave. Shiro nodded, understanding, but not wishing to go. He returned to his home, only to find his sons waiting for him and for news of the stranger. He answered their questions and went to bed. Shiro planned on going back to that hospital first thing in the morning. However, he would not find Mephisto there when he arrived. He'd ask questions but no one would know who he was talking about. Shiro would be confused, thinking that he'd gone insane. He'd ask himself if it was all another one of his dreams. He'd be confused, and then, he'd forget as if it all had never happened in the first place. Mephisto never existed in his life and it was likely he never would again.


	10. Truth is, I can't stand this anymore.

Mephisto had woken up in the hospital. He'd turned his body back to it's normal settings and healed instantly. He paused time, escaped the hospital, and used his knowledge on demons to make it as if he'd never been there in the first place. Mephisto saw no reason to stay in this world, so he returned to Gehenna, leaving everyone to their own devices. He placed his summoning circles in random locations and went about life as usual. Well, how it was before Shiro that is. 

Shiro went about his own life too. Everything was the same. Gradually his nightmares and what little memory he had of Mephisto disappeared. Rin and Yukio forgot too. Time reset itself. Everything was fine. Or, it should've been. 

Amaimon felt weird. He watched as everyone moved on with their lives and thought it was strange. He missed his brother in this house (about time he did) and wanted him back. Everything about this situation was all wrong. Shiro needed to be with Mephisto. Rin and Yukio needed another parent. Someone, (besides Amaimon) needed to be here to tell them when they were working too hard and when they needed to slack off a bit and have fun. Mephisto should be that person. Amaimon noticed that there was a gap. He noticed the gap and was continuing to notice the gap. Things were boring without his brother around and who knows what he was going through in Gehenna. Amaimon shuddered at the thought. 

The little green hamster attempted to subtly remind everyone of who Mephisto was. He hoped that they would remember things from the parallel time lines, as he had, and want Mephisto back into their lives (as he did). However, that wasn't working according to plan. Yukio was just amazed at how intelligent his hamster was and began to show off his little 'tricks' to the family. 

"Look at this! Amaimon drew me a picture! He is so clever for a hamster!" Yukio showed the doodle of Mephisto to his family. Shiro commented on it, impressed, and Rin just rolled his eyes (this wasn't the first time Yukio bragged about his pet). Rin  _still_  didn't have a pet and was angry that everyone else did. He'd wanted a dog for the longest time. A cute little white and fluffy dog. Was that too much to ask? Kuro was great and all, but Kuro was Shiro's. Rin wanted his own pet and wasn't getting one anytime soon. 

"What's with the abnormal hair curl?" Rin asked. Yes, he was judging the hamster's taste in art. 

"It's beautiful, don't question it," Shiro defended the hamster. Amaimon rolled his eyes and tried something different. He snatched a pen off the table and began to draw on the back of the paper. It was an intricate design (Rin was impressed this time) and Amaimon hoped desperately that he was remembering it correctly. He didn't want to summon a different demon by mistake. He just wanted his brother back. He just wanted everything to be okay again. This was the least he could do after all the trouble he'd caused Mephisto in his lifetime. 

Amaimon grabbed Shiro's finger with his small hamster feet and brought it over the design he'd just drawn. He bit down (really hard) on the finger so that it would bleed onto the paper. Shiro yelped and Yukio was stunned. Amaimon hadn't bitten anyone before. All three of them questioned the event, and questioned it even more when the lights flickered. Amaimon released Shiro's finger and watched as the figure of his brother began to form. His voice was annoyed, and he was making his entrance rather less showy than the first time he'd been summoned in this house.

"Listen, Linda, honey, if I've told you once I've told you a thousand times. I  _am not_  going to be a part of your Satanic themed birthday party this year. Stop summoning me like I'm some clown! I'm not the Devil, I'm a trickster, there is a difference. It isn't your sweet 16 anymore so don't expect me to do the same thing every year!" Mephisto complained as his figure formed. When he was completely there, and realized that this wasn't Linda's home, he immediately connected the dots and muttered 'Gefängnis' while pointing at Amaimon. A little cage formed around him to keep him from running off. 

Mephisto picked up the cage and glared at his brother, "What do you think you're doing?" he questioned. "Do you know how long it took me to get them to forget who I was? Why are you messing up all of my hard work? You little pest of a brother. Did you miss me that much?" 

Amaimon glanced at Yukio before thinking 'ah, fuck it' and began to talk back to his brother, "Don't talk to me like that, brother, I know you wanted to come back  _just as much_  as I wanted you back." Yukio nearly fell out of his chair upon hearing his hamster speak, but, unfortunately, he still didn't think Amaimon was anything more than a very intelligent hamster. Meanwhile, Shiro and Rin were extremely confused (and were still rubbing their eyes to check that this was real) about the person that had just appeared on the table. 

Mephisto placed a hand over his heart, "So you  _did_  miss me that much. I'm touched, truly."

"Go jump off a cliff," Amaimon muttered. Mephisto snickered and snapped his fingers to make the cage disappear. Amaimon plopped right into Mephisto's hand and crawled up his arm (and under his hat) in an attempt to hide his blushing face. 

Mephisto turned to Shiro and bowed. It seems fate wanted him here after all, he'd just have to try and do things a bit differently this time, "Hello, my name is Mephisto Pheles. You've summoned a demon king. Is there anything you'd like to sell your soul for?" 

As if the puzzle pieces of time had come together to form a giant picture, Shiro's memories returned. In his nightmares, the thing he was missing, was this individual. The words 'demon king' had been the secret code his brain was looking for. His brain flooded with all of the things he'd forgotten. It was too much to handle at one time. 

Shiro jumped up on the table that Mephisto was standing on, startled the demon, and grabbed his shirt collar bringing his face closer to Shiro's. Mephisto half thought that Shiro was going to beat the shit out of him because of the expression of pure rage on his face. However, that was not the case. 

"You bastard," Shiro began, "trading one lost thing for another doesn't fix anything! Don't you  _dare_  try and leave again! Do you hear me?! Don't do it! I won't allow that nonsense! I never would have allowed you to try and save them if it meant losing you too. You know that damn well and you still did it!"

Mephisto glanced to the side before returning eye contact, "No promises," he replied. 

"No," Shiro scolded Mephisto as if he was a child, "no, there  _will_ be promises. You will be a member of this household till the day I die, till the day Rin dies, and till the day Yukio dies too. You're not allowed to leave again.  _Ever_. Under no circumstances. I don't care if the damn apocalypse is upon us. You're just as valuable as anyone in this room," Shiro paused to point at Mephisto's hat, "including that hamster!" Amaimon, right on cue, poked his head out with a little sign on it saying 'Kiss him. That's one of the ways to force a demon into a contract.'

Mephisto, guessing what it was that Amaimon had done, took a step back and tried really hard to get Shiro to let go of his shirt collar. However, stepping back meant that there was no more table, and Mephisto fell backwards (dragging Shiro with him) and onto the ground. The two ended up in a kiss even though he had tried against it. A list of terms and conditions dropped on Shiro's head with a small 'sign here to accept' line. Shiro signed, without a second thought, and the list disappeared (along with the magical pen that had appeared with it).

"You signed away your soul without even reading the list of conditions! Do you have a brain in that skull of yours?!" Mephisto snapped. Under normal soul-signing contract circumstances, he would have been pleased at the ignorance of humans, but, since this wasn't a normal human to him, he was quite mad.

Shiro crossed his arms, (he was sitting on top of Mephisto at this point) "This was an emergency, I didn't have the time."

"You idiot! If I'd been any other demon you'd be in a miserable situation!"

"Ah, but, you're not any other demon, you're my Mephisto!" Shiro grinned. Mephisto opened his mouth to speak but was too flustered to say anything. A light glow appeared on Shiro's chest and later he would find a symbol similar to Mephisto's summoning circle as proof of their contract. The twins' memories had returned, very slowly, and they weren't sure how they felt about this situation. It took a while for them to get used to the idea of Mephisto being a demon, but not too long considering they'd already thought of him as a family member before. Rin was pleased in fact. He'd wanted Mephisto to marry his dad and now something more permanent than marriage had come along. He couldn't be more happy about this situation. Although, both twins were just as angry at Mephisto for trying to leave as Shiro had been. 

"Wait, does that mean Amaimon is a demon too?" Yukio finally caught on. The hamster rolled his eyes and sighed. Mephisto, Shiro, and Rin all just laughed. 

"Secret is out, Amaimon, do you still want to be a hamster?" Mephisto questioned. Amaimon blinked in response. He'd been a hamster so long he'd forgotten he wasn't restricted to this form. He dropped to the floor and a puff of smoke emerged. When the smoke cleared, Amaimon was there, in his human body.

"My name is Amaimon," he introduced himself properly this time, "I am Mephisto's younger brother and one of the demon kings. Thank you for allowing me to stay as a member of this house too." 

"Great!" Rin huffed, "Dad gets a demon king; Yukio gets a demon king. I'm taking Kuro. Okay? Okay. Kuro is mine now. Thank you very much," Rin frowned. Kuro purred at his feet and jumped up into his lap. The cat accepted Rin's announcement quite well. Everyone (except Amaimon) laughed. The Okumura household had experienced it's fair share of surprises. Would there be more to come? Hopefully, they'd all be good surprises...


End file.
